Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
MeIt is valuable only for the leather. The beginning of the tragic story of the Neapolitan mobster saga Gomora throws us into the sordid history of Secondigliano, a broken part of the north of Naples where, in 1977, he was abandoned by God and the government, leaving organized crime as the only way to survive. But even in this purgatory, the style of the city and of the late 70s remains: the boys of Secondigliano cannot escape their fate, but they will look very good.
Angelo (Francesco Pellegrino) who vibrates through the crowd, with his messianic long-collared pecs, eyes that look like he’s made up and lots of cool leather jackets. Children gather to watch as his car comes to a dusty halt and Angelo, chest hair and medallion perched on the open collar of a two-tone brown silk shirt, gets out and climbs to his next appointment. Angelo is in his twenties and is the most famous criminal in his area, but he experiences the pain of those who have been prevented: at the level of the whole city he has no power, and he realized that the big bosses give him a small part of the whole pie. His crew, sporting their calf-length leather jackets in mustard or burgundy, are happy enough, but Angelo wants more.
Looking at him from afar is a child who is eating too much. Pietro (Luca Lubrano) is 19 years old, and he has a very different problem. Every day he wears the same jumbo corduroy shirt, which looks sad next to Angelo’s sharp outfit while still being, in our eyes, cool. Pietro has nothing but his wits, yet his desire to elevate himself makes him the natural leader of his merry band of petty thieves, and if he can prove his worth to the Angels, his rise can begin. His name is Savastano… The followers of Gomorrah know that, after 30 years, Pietro Savastano will be king.
The fast-paced and determined Angelo Pietro soon becomes his friend, at first the Angelo team sneaks around while saving money on the premises overnight. It seems there is a rat in the works who must be found and dealt with mercilessly, an old mafia tale told here with sad beauty, as the rain falls and opens Pietro’s eyes. Last but not least, we go to a very interesting funeral where everyone who attends knows that the killer is in their group and the dead person has returned.
Two new allies approach the Angels, eager to mix with the old, more powerful spots – large double-breasted suits; bigger, bigger, better looking, better looking – they enter the drug scene that confuses families and young and old alike. There is always a childish pride, even if unknown to Bugsy Malone that offsets the danger of the business in progress, for example, when Angelo and Pietro remove the bullets by distracting the guards who use the ball with 22 10-year-olds.
But Gomorrah: The Origins respects the characters’ struggles. The word “freedom” continues to appear in the conversation, promised forever to the foot soldiers in return for their loyalty, but not really given to anyone except the men at the top. Angelo and Pietro’s difficult character means that their chances of success are small – we see how poor Pietro is, while Angelo’s difficult youth is summed up by the memory of his uncle, who doesn’t have many lines but speaks loudly: “You know what your mother did after she shot your father’s killer? She came home to nurse!”
As he prepares to enter society, meanwhile, Pietro meets a girl, Imma (Tullia Venezia), who lives a good life in a nice house with her parents who love her. Imma tells Pietro about her dream of studying music at Juilliard; Pietro remains silent when asked what his dream is, since poor boys like him are not allowed. Again, Gomora fans know how the story unfolded, and it begins with Imma realizing that gang violence also affects her family, which means that she too has no freedom.
With children and adults as their antagonists, Gomora: The Origins may not have the reputation of other crime stories, but even though it tells the story of a well-known, incredibly wealthy group – at a flower festival where different families meet, eat and make out with each other aggressively, you expect a young Al Pacino to engage in crime – his youth is tender. Get out of your old clothes and hit the streets.
